Soccer referee dies after assault by player

Red card triggered attack that left referee in a coma

Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, January 2, 2018

A soccer referee who was attacked by an angry player last week died Saturday in a Xalapa, Veracruz, hospital.

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José Valdemar Hernández Capetillo was officiating at an amateur soccer match December 24 in Xalapa when he called one card too many for Milton Márquez. The Guadalajara player was issued a yellow card followed by a red, and assaulted Hernández in retaliation.

The referee was carried off the field unconscious.

He remained in a coma until he died early Saturday morning. Traumatic brain injury was the cause of death, said the Mexican Referees’ Association, which condemned the attack.

“We must eradicate these incidents from soccer. We cannot continue to allow attacks against people who do nothing more than step on to a soccer pitch to dispense justice,” the organization said in a statement.

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BB

Sorry to hear the referee has died. My condolences to family and friends. At least now the idiot player will see it’s much better to sit out a game or two, than to sit on ice for the rest of your life. These young people really need to control their tempers.